Electrical

Resistive Voltage Divider Under Load

Electrical Diagrams · made in Skemio

Schematic comparing an unloaded 12V divider producing 6V with a loaded branch where parallel load drops equivalent resistance to 500 ohms.
Schematic comparing an unloaded 12V divider producing 6V with a loaded branch where parallel load drops equivalent resistance to 500 ohms.
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What it shows

  • Unloaded divider formula assumes an ideal, infinite load impedance.
  • Connecting load RL in parallel with R2 lowers bottom-leg resistance.
  • Output voltage sags unless RL is at least 10× to 100× greater than R2.

The takeaway

A resistive divider cannot act as a voltage regulator because load current drops output voltage.

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